


Loss

by FancifulRivers



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Department of Mysteries, Gen, Psychological Horror, Unspeakables
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13024992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FancifulRivers/pseuds/FancifulRivers
Summary: They say to advance in the Department of Mysteries, there's always something you have to give up.





	Loss

They say to advance in the Department of Mysteries, there's always something you have to give up. It's never directly acknowledged, but Percy gets the message through subtle winks and nods. He doesn't care. It's the first department he's actually felt  _challenged_ in, and the work is brilliant. No more cauldron bottoms for this Weasley; Percy is  _going places_.

It's easy to brush off a party here and a gathering there. Easy to ignore a friend's Floo call or the occasional owl. They'll understand, he tells himself. Most of his friends are Ministry workers, too. Some of them even work as Unspeakables alongside him. They know his work is important and can't be discarded to one side like an old edition of the Daily Prophet. It's months before he realises that he hasn't actually gone to a pub or out with some friends in over a year. By then, his boss offers him a promotion and he gladly accepts.

Then he meets Audrey and it becomes a little harder. She works at the Ministry, too, and she tells him that he's working too hard. He's always so pale and strained-looking, she claims, and Percy just laughs it off. It's just a little byproduct of wanting to be the best, that's all. Her kisses are soft and sweet like fairy floss and he loses himself in them for precious moments. Her hair is as soft as a bird's wing, and she tells him she wants to fly free. Wants him to follow her.

But by then, he knows what he has to do. Telling Audrey it's over is harder than he thought it would be. He pretends he's not crying, but the blurriness in his eyes says otherwise. He cleans his glasses by hand, polishing away the traitorous moisture. She just didn't understand, that's all. She's too caught up in office gossip, too invested in fripperies and family pressures. Nothing like Percy. His boss claps him on the shoulder and tells him 'well done' a week later. Percy's promotion is bittersweet but all the more glorious for it.

His family is the hardest to give up. He's always been proud to be a Weasley. Always been glad to know what his flaming red hair and masses of freckles means in the wizarding world. He's not poor anymore (well, not as poor as he could be), but he sends as much of his paycheck as he can conceivably get away with to his mum and dad. How can he do that, if he gives them up?  _It's okay,_ someone soothes.  _Anonymous benefactors. Happens all the time._ He nods, wiping raw cheeks with a handkerchief. His Unspeakable robes chafe, but he gives a watery, proud smile. It feels almost painless, and his memories fade into blurry obscurity. The last one is of a plump, red-haired woman with warm eyes hugging him tight against her and crying into his cloak how proud she is of him. It makes him feel warm and vaguely uncomfortable.

_You're doing so well, Percy,_ his colleagues encourage him, but he knows he's not. He's not finished yet. He doesn't know how he knows it but he does and he finds himself wandering one day, drifting down dark corridors and darker spirals of stairs, his wand illuminating the way. There's a veil, and there are whispers behind it, and he thinks of the one Sirius Black died in, and is momentarily afraid.

_It's okay, Percy,_ someone encourages him, and he takes a deep breath and steps through.

_Well done,_ the circle of Unspeakables say. He falls to his knees, momentarily breathless. Then he gets to his feet, pulling his hood up over his face.

He has no name anymore. HIs appearance means nothing now.

His work is exemplary.


End file.
